Roleplaying Games

Forgotten Heroes 2018 Submission 3: The Aquarian!

As Forgotten Heroes draws to an end this year, I have saved the truly worst for last. I present to you: The Aquarian!

Sigh. Where to begin?

The Aquarian’s name is Wundarr, and he was born on planet Dakkam. When he was an infant, his father put him in a rocket and launched Wundarr into space because—wait for it—he thought Dakkam was about to blow up. Turns out he was wrong. Oops.

Wundarr drifted through space in suspended animation until he arrived at Earth, where he was bombarded by cosmic rays in the outer atmosphere and got superpowers. (This somewhat plagiaristic origin story may sound familiar to you. Perhaps he should have been named “Suparr” instead. I have to assume it was meant as a parody; either that or DC found the Aquarian so ridiculous they didn’t want to draw attention to the similarities and forever associate their own character with this ball-bag.)

Wundarr grew to maturity in the spaceship, but he still had the mind of an infant when he crashed on Earth. The Thing took him under his wing for a while, then Namorita kind of adopted him before Project: Pegasus grabbed him up and used him to study the Cosmic Cube. Nothing good ever really comes of that, but Wundarr got wicked smart (I’m from Massachusetts) and his powers were increased. He called himself the Aquarian and made it his mission to bring peace and enlightenment to the world. When not doing these things, he tours the country playing the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar.

OK, I made that last part up. (Or did I?)

The Aquarian missed out on being faster than a speeding bullet, but the cosmic rays made him more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is because he absorbs all kinds of energy and converts it to kinetic force, which he must discharge periodically by doing something physical, lest he explode. This won’t harm him, but the same can’t be said for anyone around him when he goes boom, so he jumps around a lot. He also has a force field that nullifies most superpowers and makes him pretty much invulnerable to anything kinetically powered, like a bullet or a punch. Presumably, you can still give him a hug. He would probably like that.

I first discovered the Aquarian in the unreadable Captain America Annual #7. I have tried to get through this particular issue about ten times in my life, and I don’t think I’ve made it very far. It’s torture.

To make this conversion, I used two miniatures, the head of an old Aquaman miniature and the headless body of the Weather Wizard I used making Water Wizard earlier this month.

I needed to do a fair bit of sculpting to make the Aquarian’s ridiculous sleeves. As anyone who visits this blog regularly knows, green stuff is not my friend. I decided to try this Magic Sculpt, which is similar in function in that it is a two-part sculpting medium, but it behaves quite differently than green stuff. It’s not as sticky, and it takes a little longer to cure completely. When wet, it gets really soft, which makes holding its shape difficult. It’s also a hell of a lot cheaper. This 1 lb. set cost me less than $20. An 8″ ribbon of green stuff costs $15!

I think my concept was solid, and the miniatures used were pretty good choices, but…

the actual execution is somewhat lacking. Here is the finished model. I’m not thrilled with how he came out. I would have liked to add more texture to the cloth sleeves, but I got annoyed with the Magic Sculpt and decided the hell with it. Hopefully by the time Forgotten Heroes rolls around next year I will be more adept at sculpting.

Nevertheless, I now have a perfectly serviceable Aquarian miniature for supers gaming, should I ever want to use him in a game, which I can’t imagine I would. Ever.

4 Responses to “Forgotten Heroes 2018 Submission 3: The Aquarian!”

Well I think you’ve done a great job on him Keith, It looks to me like Magic sculpt is similar in consistency to milliput, only with a slightly more papier mashe’ (spelt wrong, French was never my thing!) edge to it. What is your final opinion on it?

Three great entries, well done on a great FH month.

“Nevertheless, I now have a perfectly serviceable Aquarian miniature for supers gaming, should I ever want to use him in a game, which I can’t imagine I would. Ever.

Wait…now I have to, don’t I?”

Only if you don’t want to upset some of the more delicate members of the wargaming community, oh or be accused of not having fun in the right way of course!

You’re too kind, Roger. No, really: you are. I think he looks like complete ass, but thank you for the encouragement.
I have never used milliput, and after our email exchange I’m scared to try lest my tender fingers develop boils and lesions. Magic Sculpt is pretty interesting. I can’t say I’m any better working with it than I am with the hated green stuff, but as I said it is far less sticky. The problem I encounter with green stuff is making it stay where I want it without sticking to my tools (even when it’s wet). The problem I encountered with Magic Sculpt was getting it to keep its shape once I put it where I wanted it, because it was often too soft and any messing with it just made it fall apart. If I added water, it would really fall apart…I’m sure it’s just a matter of practicing…but I was on a Forgotten Heroes deadline, man!
Although the latter part of your comment earned a wry smile, I only meant that as the (possibly) only person in the world to have a miniature of the Aquarian, and one that I made myself, I kind of HAVE to use him in a game. I could try to adapt Captain America Annual #7 to Super Mission Force, if only I could get past page 3…but TBH that’s not happening. I guess it will have to be an original scenario!

Now, that was an unexpected surprise! As comic book characters go, Aquarian is one of the lamest ever. He’s really got nothing going for him at all. At least the z-list villains have the ‘so crap they’re cool’ vibe. And I want to echo Harry’s (BorderGuy) sentiment – your post made me laugh, which is always a good thing.

Not used Magic Sculpt and my experiences with Green Stuff have been similar to your own – the bloody stuff won’t behave itself. I use milliput, as I’m luckily not allergic to it and it does tend to work pretty well for me. It’s not an ideal medoum for fine detail work, but does have a more solid nature, kind of like plasticine.

I think he’s great and, as you say, you’re the only person who has an Aquarian figure, so there’s nothing to judge it against.

Thanks, Jeremy. The real tough part was keeping my mouth shut about doing The Aquarian…he was the first guy I thought of for this year’s challenge and I had a feeling you would appreciate his sheer suckitude. Well, he was the second, if you count the Hypno Hustler, who I desperately need a miniature for. Perhaps when I get better at sculpting I’ll have a go at his disco outfit…maybe next year if I’m lucky.
I love this challenge, Jez, so please allow me to reserve a spot for next year. I already have a few ideas…